Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-10

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The diagram below shows how one type of desert, known as a rain-shadow desert, is formed.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The formation of rain-shadow deserts

Student answer (Band 4.0)

the given picture is illustrate about process of rain shadow in desert area. Here the image contain seven different individual steps that formed during the rain shadow desert .

first of all the high pressure winds are formed on the upper surface of the sea.then gradually it pushed upwards in the atmosphere clouds are formed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies the topic as the formation of a rain-shadow desert and recognises that the diagram contains seven stages. However, it reports only a small part of the process and does not provide a clear overview of how the stages lead to a desert. The claim that “high pressure winds are formed on the upper surface of the sea” is not shown in the diagram; it says winds approach from the sea. The account also skips the key sequence of moist air rising and cooling, rain falling on the windward side, and dry air crossing the mountains to reach inland areas. At 55 words, the response is well below the required 150, so the task is addressed only minimally. Describe the full sequence and its outcome.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: it introduces the diagram and then begins describing the process with “first of all.” This gives the reader a starting point, but the account stops after only a couple of stages, so there is no clear progression through the process or concluding outcome. The transition “then gradually” does not clearly connect the wind’s upward movement to cloud formation, and the relationship between these events is difficult to follow. Use a separate overview and a process paragraph, then link each stage in order with clear references such as “as the air rises,” “therefore,” and “on the leeward side.”

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses some relevant topic vocabulary, including “process,” “clouds,” and “rain shadow desert,” which helps establish the subject. However, the range is very limited, and several phrases are imprecise or awkward for describing this diagram. “High pressure winds” is not supported by the visual, while “upper surface of the sea” does not clearly express that winds approach from the sea. The phrase “seven different individual steps” is also unnecessarily repetitive. Build a more precise process vocabulary, including terms such as “moist air,” “cool,” “precipitation,” “windward,” “leeward,” and “dry air,” and use them to report the stages accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts both an introductory sentence and a sequence sentence, but the grammatical range is narrow and control is inconsistent. In “the given picture is illustrate,” the verb construction is incorrect; use “illustrates” or “shows.” “The image contain” also has a subject–verb agreement error, and “it pushed upwards” lacks a suitable passive form for the process (“it is pushed upwards”). Sentence boundaries and spacing are inconsistent, as in “sea.then,” and the second sentence joins several events without clear punctuation. Practise accurate present-simple descriptions and passive forms, for example, “The winds are forced upwards, where the moist air cools and clouds form.”

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